The FIRPTA Tax Rate applicable may be now 15% (versus the old 10% rate) on properties selling for US $1 Million or more.

However, the 10% rate may apply for properties selling for under $1 Million (Note: Only if it meets and subject to the IRS criteria to be still eligible for the 10% rate). Otherwise the new 15% rate may apply to certain transactions – even to those under $1 million!

Should you have questions or need help with FIRPTA, or need Business or Individual tax advice, out firm is available via phone at (305) 672-4272 – as well as via e-mail at DAVID@CPA-FL.COM. Our Firm Website is WWW.CPA-FL.COM

According to the FIRPTA Rules – if a person is a US Non-Resident Foreigner and disposes of an interest in U.S. real property, that transaction (and the parties to the transaction) are subject to FIRPTA tax withholding.

The mere ‘disposition’ or transfer of real property by a foreign person can trigger the withholding tax of the minimum 10% -15% (the newer applicable 15% rate for transactions over $1 million & 15% may be applicable on certain transactions even under $1 million per recent new IRS criteria.)

The tax act puts a duty for a tax withholding of a minimum 10% – 15% tax (the newer applicable 15% rate for properties transferred/selling for over $1 million – & 15% on certain transactions under $1 million per IRS criteria – per the 2015 PATH Tax Act effective since February 16th, 2016) on the net proceeds on the purchaser(s), sellers, real estate agents and escrow agents such as the title company or law firm performing the closing.

The good news is that there are some exceptions provided for the FIRPTA withholding tax applicable – however it is important to note that these are not all automatically applicable. Often, an Early Withholding Exemption Application must be filed with the IRS in advance of a real estate closing – in order to obtain a written determination of the actual withholding tax or exemption applicable to the transaction.

Also important to note is that If the IRS deems you are a responsible party for the FIRTPA withholding tax and you neglect to do so, you may be held liable for the tax!

If there is a moral to this story – it would be that if you are a realtor, purchaser, or real estate attorney who represents a foreign non-resident person, foreign entity or even a U.S. entity which is owned by a foreign person it is critical that you insist that the purchaser or seller seek the advice and formally engage a Certified Public Accountant or Tax Attorney to advise how the FIRPTA laws may apply to their particular situation. The office of David L Wrubel, CPA, PA can be of assistance in this capacity.

Should you have questions or need help with FIRPTA as well as need Business or Individual Tax Advice:

Find Out Now How You May Benefit from Federal Disaster Tax Relief Now!

The IRS enacted on September 29, 2017 the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017 [HR 3823] which was stated to “provide targeted tax relief for taxpayers impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. In addition to supporting these tax relief measures, the administration will submit further requests to the Congress for supplemental funding in the near future, and looks forward to working with Congress to enact these recovery measures into law.”

(2) It eliminates the current requirement that taxpayers itemize deductions to access this tax relief;

(3) It provides an exception to the 10-percent early retirement plan withdrawal penalty for qualified hurricane relief distributions;

(4) It allows for the re-contribution of retirement plan withdrawals for home purchases cancelled due to eligible disasters;

(5) It provides flexibility for loans from retirement plans for qualified hurricane relief;

(6) It temporarily suspend limitations on charitable contribution deductions associated with qualified hurricane relief made before December 31, 2017;

(7) It provides a tax credit for 40 percent of wages (up to $6,000 per employee) paid by a disaster-affected employer to each employee from a core disaster area; and

(8) It allows taxpayers to use earned income from 2016 to determine the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit for the 2017 tax year.

Should you have questions or need help with Federal Disaster Relief Reporting for Casualty Losses or Business Disaster Relief Tax Credit Claims, or need Business or Individual tax advice, out firm is available via phone at (305) 672-4272 – as well as via e-mail at DAVID@CPA-FL.COM. Our Firm Website is WWW.CPA-FL.COM

Should you have questions or need help with Business or Individual Tax Advice:

New FIRPTA Tax Rate applicable may be now 15% (versus the old 10% rate) on properties selling for US $1 Million or more.

However, the 10% rate may apply for properties selling for under $1 Million (Note: Only if it meets and subject to the IRS criteria to be still eligible for the 10% rate). Otherwise the new 15% rate may apply to certain transactions – even to those under $1 million!

Should you have questions or need help with FIRPTA, or need Business or Individual tax advice, out firm is available via phone at (305) 672-4272 – as well as via e-mail at DAVID@CPA-FL.COM. Our Firm Website is WWW.CPA-FL.COM

According to the FIRPTA Rules – if a person is a US Non-Resident Foreigner and disposes of an interest in U.S. real property, that transaction (and the parties to the transaction) are subject to FIRPTA tax withholding.

The mere ‘disposition’ or transfer of real property by a foreign person can trigger the withholding tax of the minimum 10% -15% (the newer applicable 15% rate for transactions over $1 million & 15% may be applicable on certain transactions even under $1 million per IRS criteria – per the 2015 PATH Tax Act!)

The tax act puts a duty for a tax withholding of a minimum 10% – 15% tax (the newer applicable 15% rate for properties transferred/selling for over $1 million – & 15% on certain transactions under $1 million per IRS criteria – per the 2015 PATH Tax Act effective February 16th, 2016) on the net proceeds on the purchaser(s), sellers, real estate agents and escrow agents such as the title company or law firm performing the closing.

The good news is that there are some exceptions provided for the FIRPTA withholding tax applicable – however it is important to note that these are not all automatically applicable. Often, an Early Withholding Exemption Application must be filed with the IRS in advance of a real estate closing – in order to obtain a written determination of the actual withholding tax or exemption applicable to the transaction.

Also important to note is that If the IRS deems you are a responsible party for the FIRTPA withholding tax and you neglect to do so, you may be held liable for the tax!

If there is a moral to this story – it would be that if you are a realtor, purchaser, or real estate attorney who represents a foreign non-resident person, foreign entity or even a U.S. entity which is owned by a foreign person it is critical that you insist that the purchaser or seller seek the advice and formally engage a Certified Public Accountant or Tax Attorney to advise how the FIRPTA laws may apply to their particular situation. The office of David L Wrubel, CPA, PA can be of assistance in this capacity.

Should you have questions or need help with FIRPTA as well as need Business or Individual Tax Advice:

Many individuals who might be recently freed from the constraints of working for someone else or would simply like to have the opportunity to become entrepreneurs and start their own company to support themselves.

For these new entrepreneurs, how to choose between an entity type LLC, Corporation, S-Corporation, LLP, Partnership or Sole-Proprietorship Self Employment is not always clear. The tax treatment of entity type chosen can have a substantial impact on an entrepreneur’s finances for the lifetime of the company. Therefore, it is often important to get the right guidance from the right professional – instead of the best price on a company formation online.

Setting up a new company with a qualified professional such a a certified public accountant may be available for almost the same cost (or less) than the online services once all the associated fees are added up such as rush processing, obtaining an EIN, S-election, etc. The benefit of using a CPA to form a new company is that you may get pointed in the right direction from the very beginning – instead of being stuck with a tax on the company operations that might have been otherwise legally avoidable!

Some states have state income taxes on company income while others like the State of Florida do not currently have a state income tax on most types of entities – with the exception being C-corporations. That leaves other entity types such as LLC’s and S-Corporations generally without any State of Florida Income Tax on the operating income!

Therefore, if a LLC or S-Corporation has operations which could be done exactly the same in the State of Florida vs. New York – the owners of that company would generally put more money in their pocket – after taxes – by operating the company and living in Florida vs. New York – simply by being in Florida since Florida has no state income tax for individuals nor for LLC or S-Corporation entity types ! It might be enough reason for a business owner to consider to literally move a company to the State of Florida from another state to eliminate state income tax on company profits legally! Relocation of a Company to the State of Florida from another state is one way to legally reduce or eliminate State Income Tax on profits.

To Incorporate a New Business as well as for assistance with the tax considerations of Forming a New Company in the State of Florida or the Reorganization of a Company to the State of Florida from another state, please contact the accounting firm of David L Wrubel CPA PA:

Should you have questions or need Business or Individual Tax Advice, our firm may be contacted at:

Streamline IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Programs (OVDP) – Which Program is right for you?

Amnesty may be available for non-compliance with Foreign Bank Account Reporting and Disclosure to the IRS – Get FBAR Help & IRS OVDP Help Here:

Big Brother is watching in the case of Foreign Bank Account Reporting. This program gives people the chance to come into the IRS before the IRS finds them. In many cases, the IRS is getting help from the overseas banks themselves who engineered the offshore tax evasion practices in the first place!

Take overseas banks like UBS and HSBC, who also depend on their US-granted bank charters to do business here in the USA, and the IRS has the perfect recipe to motivate these foreign banks to cooperate with them in this effort to catch tax evaders or risk being shut down from operating in the USA. Add in the increased capabilities and sophistication that modern computerization allows, and the net needed to be cast by the IRS to catch tax evaders becomes even smaller.

Under the old and new programs, some taxpayers qualify for penalties as low as 5%. For the new program, that category includes inherited accounts those accounts that have not been actively managed.

Taxpayers who are already being audited cannot participate in the program. Those who have made “quiet disclosures” by amending previously filed tax returns may be able to apply for the program.

Taxpayers are urged by the IRS Chairman to disclose foreign accounts – before recent new reporting requirements for overseas banks under FATCA and other changes to US tax treaties give the IRS more information for use in criminal cases.

Please contact our office for any assistance needed for the IRS Foreign Bank Account Reporting Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program and for assistance in preparing the applicable prior year amended tax returns & FBAR returns in conjunction with participation in the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program to apply for Non-Filing Amnesty & to report previously undeclared income on amended tax returns for prior years.

Should you have questions or need Business or Individual Tax Advice, our firm may be contacted at:

Don’t wait to the Last minute! There are several EARLIER tax filing deadlines for the 2017 tax year!

The 2017 tax year Personal tax returns are due April 18th, 2017 this year. However, if you have certain types of small businesses, such as LLC’s and S-Corporations – the filing deadline for most calendar-year corporation tax returns is March 15th for both of these types of returns each year! (The LLC’s were previously due April 15th each year and are now due a full month early by March 15th of each year!) Regular C-Corporation Type entity returns are now due April 15th each year.

It is important to note, that for certain types of business entities, such as S-Corporations and Limited Liability Corporations (“LLC”s) – since these are generally taxed as “pass-through type entities,” and the net taxable income or loss passes through to and is used in the tax calculation of the owners’ personal tax return,…the tax returns for these types of entities must be completed before the personal tax return of the owners’ !!

So, if you started a company during last year, and you are used to waiting until April to get your tax return done – you may be pushing the envelope as far as the deadlines to get both the business and personal tax returns done in time for the April personal filing deadline.

Worse, you may even miss the company tax return filing deadline should it now be March 15th and risk penalties – or not leave enough time to finish both the LLC and the Personal Tax Return by the mid-April filing deadline!

The IRS has been strictly enforcing the issuing of Form 1099-MISC to Independent contractors and for Attorney fees paid. The new late penalties for filing after the NEW & EARLIER filing deadline of January 31 each year – as applicable – can result in penalties of approximately $200 per each late filed 1099 form!

It is important to realize that when you have a business, there may be other applicable earlier and more frequent interim Federal, State & Local tax form and tax filing deadlines compared to when you were just only filing a personal tax return before as an employee of someone else!

If you do in fact run out of time, you can perhaps file an extension. However, remember that an extension is generally only an extension of time to file, not to pay the taxes. Most Federal and State business and personal tax extensions require you to calculate and/or estimate as accurately as possible the amount of taxes due to be paid by the deadline and to pay that along with the extension – even if the forms are filed later – or you can risk incurring substantial penalties and interest.

With the right pre-planning and professional tax guidance form a certified tax professional, you can strive to be ahead of the game going forward…instead of behind the eight-ball!

Should you have questions or need Business or Individual Tax Advice, or help with FIRPTA:

Many individuals who might be recently freed from the constraints of working for someone else or would simply like to have the opportunity to become entrepreneurs and start their own company to support themselves.

For these new entrepreneurs, how to choose between an entity type LLC, Corporation, S-Corporation, LLP, Partnership or Sole-Proprietorship Self Employment is not always clear. The tax treatment of entity type chosen can have a substantial impact on an entrepreneur’s finances for the lifetime of the company. Therefore, it is often important to get the right guidance from the right professional – instead of the best price on a company formation online.

Setting up a new company with a qualified professional such a a certified public accountant may be available for almost the same cost (or less) than the online services once all the associated fees are added up such as rush processing, obtaining an EIN, S-election, etc. The benefit of using a CPA to form a new company is that you may get pointed in the right direction from the very beginning – instead of being stuck with a tax on the company operations that might have been otherwise legally avoidable!

Some states have state income taxes on company income while others like the State of Florida do not currently have a state income tax on most types of entities – with the exception being C-corporations. That leaves other entity types such as LLC’s and S-Corporations generally without any State of Florida Income Tax on the operating income!

Therefore, if a LLC or S-Corporation has operations which could be done exactly the same in the State of Florida vs. New York – the owners of that company would generally put more money in their pocket – after taxes – by operating the company and living in Florida vs. New York – simply by being in Florida since Florida has no state income tax for individuals nor for LLC or S-Corporation entity types ! It might be enough reason for a business owner to consider to literally move a company to the State of Florida from another state to eliminate state income tax on company profits legally! Relocation of a Company to the State of Florida from another state is one way to legally reduce or eliminate State Income Tax on profits.

To Incorporate a New Business as well as for assistance with the tax considerations of Forming a New Company in the State of Florida or the Reorganization of a Company to the State of Florida from another state, please contact the accounting firm of David L Wrubel CPA PA:

Should you have questions or need Business or Individual Tax Advice, our firm may be contacted at:

Streamline IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Programs (OVDP) – Which Program is right for you?

Amnesty may be available for non-compliance with Foreign Bank Account Reporting and Disclosure to the IRS – Get FBAR Help & IRS OVDP Help Here:

Big Brother is watching in the case of Foreign Bank Account Reporting. This program gives people the chance to come into the IRS before the IRS finds them. In many cases, the IRS is getting help from the overseas banks themselves who engineered the offshore tax evasion practices in the first place!

Take overseas banks like UBS and HSBC, who also depend on their US-granted bank charters to do business here in the USA, and the IRS has the perfect recipe to motivate these foreign banks to cooperate with them in this effort to catch tax evaders or risk being shut down from operating in the USA. Add in the increased capabilities and sophistication that modern computerization allows, and the net needed to be cast by the IRS to catch tax evaders becomes even smaller.

Under the old and new programs, some taxpayers qualify for penalties as low as 5%. For the new program, that category includes inherited accounts those accounts that have not been actively managed.

Taxpayers who are already being audited cannot participate in the program. Those who have made “quiet disclosures” by amending previously filed tax returns may be able to apply for the program.

Taxpayers are urged by the IRS Chairman to disclose foreign accounts – before recent new reporting requirements for overseas banks under FATCA and other changes to US tax treaties give the IRS more information for use in criminal cases.

Please contact our office for any assistance needed for the IRS Foreign Bank Account Reporting Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program and for assistance in preparing the applicable prior year amended tax returns & FBAR returns in conjunction with participation in the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program to apply for Non-Filing Amnesty & to report previously undeclared income on amended tax returns for prior years.

Should you have questions or need Business or Individual Tax Advice, our firm may be contacted at:

Don’t wait to the Last minute! There are several EARLIER tax filing deadlines for the 2016 tax year!

The 2016 tax year Personal tax returns are due April 18th, 2017 this year. However, if you have certain types of small businesses, such as LLC’s and S-Corporations – the filing deadline for most calendar-year corporation tax returns is March 15th for both of these types of returns each year! (The LLC’s were previously due April 15th each year and are now due a full month early by March 15th of each year!) Regular C-Corporation Type entity returns are now due April 15th each year.

It is important to note, that for certain types of business entities, such as S-Corporations and Limited Liability Corporations (“LLC”s) – since these are generally taxed as “pass-through type entities,” and the net taxable income or loss passes through to and is used in the tax calculation of the owners’ personal tax return,…the tax returns for these types of entities must be completed before the personal tax return of the owners’ !!

So, if you started a company during last year, and you are used to waiting until April to get your tax return done – you may be pushing the envelope as far as the deadlines to get both the business and personal tax returns done in time for the April personal filing deadline.

Worse, you may even miss the company tax return filing deadline should it now be March 15th and risk penalties – or not leave enough time to finish both the LLC and the Personal Tax Return by the mid-April filing deadline!

The IRS has been strictly enforcing the issuing of Form 1099-MISC to Independent contractors and for Attorney fees paid. The new late penalties for filing after the NEW & EARLIER filing deadline of January 31 each year – as applicable – can result in penalties of approximately $200 per each late filed 1099 form!

It is important to realize that when you have a business, there may be other applicable earlier and more frequent interim Federal, State & Local tax form and tax filing deadlines compared to when you were just only filing a personal tax return before as an employee of someone else!

If you do in fact run out of time, you can perhaps file an extension. However, remember that an extension is generally only an extension of time to file, not to pay the taxes. Most Federal and State business and personal tax extensions require you to calculate and/or estimate as accurately as possible the amount of taxes due to be paid by the deadline and to pay that along with the extension – even if the forms are filed later – or you can risk incurring substantial penalties and interest.

With the right pre-planning and professional tax guidance form a certified tax professional, you can strive to be ahead of the game going forward…instead of behind the eight-ball!

Should you have questions or need Business or Individual Tax Advice, or help with FIRPTA:

New FIRPTA Tax Rate applicable may be now 15% (versus the old 10% rate) on properties selling for US $1 Million or more.

However, the 10% rate may apply for properties selling for under $1 Million (Note: Only if it meets and subject to the IRS criteria to be still eligible for the 10% rate). Otherwise the new 15% rate may apply to certain transactions – even to those under $1 million!

Should you have questions or need help with FIRPTA, or need Business or Individual tax advice, out firm is available via phone at (305) 672-4272 – as well as via e-mail at DAVID@CPA-FL.COM. Our Firm Website is WWW.CPA-FL.COM

According to the FIRPTA Rules – if a person is a US Non-Resident Foreigner and disposes of an interest in U.S. real property, that transaction (and the parties to the transaction) are subject to FIRPTA tax withholding.

The mere ‘disposition’ or transfer of real property by a foreign person can trigger the withholding tax of the minimum 10% -15% (the newer applicable 15% rate for transactions over $1 million & 15% may be applicable on certain transactions even under $1 million per IRS criteria – per the 2015 PATH Tax Act!)

The tax act puts a duty for a tax withholding of a minimum 10% – 15% tax (the newer applicable 15% rate for properties transferred/selling for over $1 million – & 15% on certain transactions under $1 million per IRS criteria – per the 2015 PATH Tax Act effective February 16th, 2016) on the net proceeds on the purchaser(s), sellers, real estate agents and escrow agents such as the title company or law firm performing the closing.

The good news is that there are some exceptions provided for the FIRPTA withholding tax applicable – however it is important to note that these are not all automatically applicable. Often, an Early Withholding Exemption Application must be filed with the IRS in advance of a real estate closing – in order to obtain a written determination of the actual withholding tax or exemption applicable to the transaction.

Also important to note is that If the IRS deems you are a responsible party for the FIRTPA withholding tax and you neglect to do so, you may be held liable for the tax!

If there is a moral to this story – it would be that if you are a realtor, purchaser, or real estate attorney who represents a foreign non-resident person, foreign entity or even a U.S. entity which is owned by a foreign person it is critical that you insist that the purchaser or seller seek the advice and formally engage a Certified Public Accountant or Tax Attorney to advise how the FIRPTA laws may apply to their particular situation. The office of David L Wrubel, CPA, PA can be of assistance in this capacity.

Should you have questions or need help with FIRPTA as well as need Business or Individual Tax Advice:

Call for an Appointment Today (305) 672-4272

The purpose of the content in this website (blog) is to provide general information on the issue contained herein. Anyinformation or postings on this website are not meant to be a substitute for tax advice on any specific issue. If you would like to know how these issues would apply to you or your business, we suggest you consult with a qualified tax professional such as a Certified Public Accountant for a specific tax opinion. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE REQUIRED DISCLAIMER: Pursuant to Federal Regulations (contained in Treasury Department Circular No. 230) governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service, we are required to inform you that this written communication unless otherwise expressly and specifically stated, does not meet the requirements needed to avoid tax or penalties. Therefore, please note that this communication was and is not intended or written by David L. Wrubel, CPA, PA, or anyone else, to be used, and that it cannot be used by you or anyone else, for the purpose(s) of (i) avoidance or evasion of any tax or penalties, including, but not limited to, those imposed by the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to any party any partnership or other entity, investment plan or arrangement, transaction(s), or tax related matters. This communication may not be forwarded (other than within the recipient to which it has been sent) without our express written consent.